Self-cleaning water cooled burning table

ABSTRACT

A burning table having a pan with a sloping bottom terminating in a clean-out trough. The water level in the table is controlled by over-flow pipes, one of which is valved to permit lowering the water level below the grating which catches the torch cut parts and the other of which controls the maximum water level necessary for burning but which is manually removable to permit complete draining of the pan and clean-out trough. A spray header extends along the pan opposite the clean-out trough and sprays water at high pressure through nozzles to wash debris resulting from the burning operation into the clean-out trough upon closing the valved over-flow pipe for filling the pan to the maxium water level necessary for burning. Bars for supporting the plate to be cut are mounted to minimize warpage and damage from the flame and to be readily replaceable.

United States Patent [191 Geffert 1 SELF-CLEANING WATER COOLED BURNING TABLE [75] Inventor: Paul J. Geffert, Mundelein, Ill.

[73] Assignee: International Harvester Company,

Chicago, Ill.

22 Filed: July 17,1972

211 App]. No.: 272,263

[52] US. Cl 266/23 F, 266/23 R, 148/9 R [51] Int. Cl B23k 7/10 [58] Field of Search... 148/9 R, 9 C, 9.5; 266/23 R, 266/23 B, 23 E, 23 H, 23 HH, 23 K, 23 M,

[4 1 Feb. 19, 1974 Primary Examiner-Gerald A. Dost Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Floyd B. Harman; Ronald C. Kamp [5 7 ABSTRACT A burning table having a pan with a sloping bottom terminating in a clean-out trough. The water level in the table is controlled by over-flow pipes, one of which is valved to permit lowering the water level below the grating which catches the torch cut parts and the other of which controls the maximum water level necessary for burning but which is manually removable to permit complete draining of the pan and clean-out trough. A spray header extends along the pan opposite the clean-out trough and sprays water at high pressure through nozzles to wash debris resulting from the burning operation into the clean-out trough upon closing the valved over-flow pipe for filling the pan to the maxium water level necessary for burning. Bars for supporting the plate to be cut are mounted to minimize warpage and damage from the flame and to be readily replaceable.

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PATENTEB FEB I 9 I974 SHEET 3 BF 3 SELF-CLEANING WATER COOLED BURNING TABLE BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Burning tables, i.e., tables for support ofa metal plate for torch or flame cutting, have customarily utilized water to cool certain elements of the table to prevent destruction of them by the flame of the torch. However, such prior art burning tables either exposed excessive portions of the table to the torch flame or required an individual to work in a thin layer of water in removing the parts severed from the metal plate burned or cut out by the torch flame. In the former case the life of the table was restricted or extensive rebuilding was frequently necessary. In the latter case certain potential safety hazards were created because of the necessity for the workmen to walk upon metal covered with a thin layer of water.

Burning tables of the piror art also necessitated frequent maintenance which was cumbersome and time consuming.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a burning table in which all of the nonreplaceable parts are isolated from the torch flame by water.

It is also an object of this invention to provide such a burning table in which all of the components which are capable of being damaged by the torch flame can be easily and inexpensively replaced.

It is another object of this invention to provide such a burning table in which parts severed by the torch flame will be caught and retained at a level beneath the water during the burning operation, but which may be easily and safely recovered after the burning operation without the necessity of walking in or reaching through the water to retrieve the parts.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a burning table which is self cleaning with each use of the table, which requires little maintenance to maintain the table and which, when maintenance or cleaning is necessary, may be readily performed with a minimum disassembly of the table.

These and other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent upon a perusal of the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic pictorial ofa pair of burning tables constructed in accordance with the present inventron;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one of'the burning tables illustrated in FIG. 1; v

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 2; and

FIG, 5 is a cross sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a pair of burning tables, indicated generally at and 12, which are connected with a sump or pit 14. Water is supplied to the pit 14 through conduit 16 and the water within the pit 14 is maintained at-a minimum level by a float valve 18'. This level maintained by the float valve is sufficiently low to permit the tables 10 and 12 to be completely drained without overflowing the pit. The purpose of the float valve is to provide makeup water to replenish that which is evaporated from the tables during normal burning operations. A pump 20 draws water from the pit 14 though a conduit 22. A foot valve 24 is connected with the-other end of the conduit 22 and provides a screen or filter to prevent debris from entering the pump and a one-way check valve permitting flow of water to the pump but precluding reverse flow from the pump into the pit. A discharge line 26 connects the pump 20 with the supply lines 28 and 30 which connect respectively with the spray headers 32 and 34 in the tables 10 and 12 respectively. For maximum utilization of the water within the pit 14, the discharge conduit 26 from the pump 20 may be utilized, if desired, to supply water to those types of multiple tip burning machines which have cooling water-cones surrounding the cutting area. In order to accomplish this conduit 26 connects with a conduit 36 leading to the burning machine torches. Because the pump 20 is a high pressure pump, it is desirable to interpose a flow.

control valve 38 in the conduit 36. Since this type of burning table may be used with either the flame type burning machine or anelectrical discharge machine, the latter of which could not tolerate metal particles and still maintain accurate cutting control, a filter, to remove minute particles of metal which may be present in the pit and pass through the screen in the foot valve 24, is positioned in the conduit 36 and is shown at 40.

To facilitate cleaning of the pit 14 it is desirable to provide means for utilizing the pump 20 to discharge all of the water present in the pit and for this purpose a valve 42 is interposed in the conduit 26 and a conduit 44 connects with the conduit 26 upstream of the valve 42 and is itself provided with a valve 46. By closing the valve 42 and opening the valve 46 the water in the pit 14 may be pumped to a desired discharge point through the conduit 44. Under normal operations the circuit would be operated with the valve 46 closed and' the valve 42 opened.

In order that the pump 20 may supply water from the pit 14 to one table at a time, for reasons more fully explained hereinafter, it will be necessary 'to provide valves 48 and 50 in the conduits 28 and 30 respectively to selectively stop the flow of water to one of the tables 10 and 12 while the pump .is supplying water to the other table. It is preferable that the valves 40 and 50 be solenoid operated to permit remote control of these valves from the burning machine console.

As shown in FIG. 1, only the drain lines for the table 10 has been illustrated for the sake of clarity, but it is to be understood that table 12 has a similar drain arrangement. In table 10, a drain line 52 leads from the table to the pit 14. The drain line 52 branches into drain lines 53 and 55 which connect respectively with over-flow and water level control pipes 54 and 56 respectively. A valve 58 is provided in the branch 55 and may be either manual, or as shown in the drawing, may be a solenoid operated valve to permit control of the water level from the burning machine console. As will be explained more completely hereinafter, the overflow pipe 54 threadedly engages with a third over-flow pipe 60 so that manual removalof the first over-flow pipe 54 will permit complete drainage of the table 10.

Since the tables and 12 are mirror images of one another, only the details of table 10 will be described with reference to H68. 2 through 5. As shown therein, the table 10 is provided with a pan 62 capable of retaining water, and may, for example, be made of /4 inch thick steel having welded water tight seams. The pan 62 is preferably rectangular in plan view, as shown in FlG. 2, and has a shoulder 63 formed around its periphery, which shoulder is supported by l-beams 64 resting upon the ground or other suitable support. The bottom 66 of the pan slopes downward from the spray header 32 and terminates in a clean-out trough 68 formed along that side of the pan opposite the spray header 32. The spray header is provided with a plurality of nozzles 70 spaced along the length thereof and directed toward the cleanout trough 68. Water under pressure is provided by the pump 20, which preferably is capable of providing an adequate supply of water for all the nozzles at approximately 100 P.S.l., will wash any debris accumulating on the bottom 66 during the burning operation into the clean-out trough 68.

In order to support the metal plate from which the parts are to be cut, a plurality of metal bars 72, which preferably are of rectangular cross section having a minor dimension and a major dimension, extend across the table 10 and rest upon the shoulder 63 formed in the pan 66. Each of the metal bars 72 are held in position by a pair of angle irons 74 and 76 secured to the shoulder 63 of the pan; The angle irons 74 and 76 are positioned with two of the legs extending substantially vertical and spaced apart a distance sufficient to permit the slidable entry of the minor dimension of the metal bar 72, while being spaced close enough together to preclude any substantial warping of the metal bar 72 due to the heat of the torch flame. Space bars 65 extend transverse to the angle irons and are secured thereto. These spacer bars maintain the angle irons in proper position, and serve as additional support for the metal bars 72..Since no other retention or positioning means are provided for the metal bar 72, it will be readily apparent that these bars may be replaced as they are damaged or cut away during the burning operation. The other legs of the two angle irons 74 and 76 extend substantially horizontal and provide a shelf or shoulder upon which the grating 78 may rest. The grating 78 is preferably provided in a plurality of sections which may be conveniently removed and replaced manually by one individual.

The over-flow pipes 54, 56 and 60 and the valve 58 function as means for controlling the water level within the pan 62 in the following manner. The over-flow pipe 60, which preferably is a pipe coupling having internal threads, is welded to the bottom of the trough 68, which is the lowest elevation in the pan .62. Whenever the pipe 54 is removed from its threaded engagement with the pipe 60, substantially all of the water in the table-will be drained to the pit 14'through branch conduit 52. When the pipe 54 is threadedly engaged in the pipe 60, and assuming valve 58 is closed, the maximum water level within the table 10 will be determined by the open end of the pipe .54. As will be apparent from F Ki. 3, the open end of pipe 54 extends just above the top of the angle irons 74 and 76 so that only the upper portion of the metal bar 72 protrudes above the maximum water level. In this way the angle irons 74 and 76 and the grating 78 will be protected from the torch flame during the burningoperation, and only the replaceable metal bar 72 will be subjected to the cutting action of the burning machine. The over-flow pipe 56 has an opened end positioned just beneath the grating 78 and, whenvalve 58 is opened, the water level in the table will be lowered to that level by draining the water through branch conduit 55 and conduit 52 to the pit 14.

During normal operation, it is expected that, while the automatic torches are cutting parts from metal plates positioned on one table, the skeleton of the metal plate from which parts have previously been cut and the parts themselves, some of which may have dropped out of the grating-78, can be removed and new blank plates positioned upon the bar 72 for cutting by the automatic machines associated with the other table. Considering the operating cycle for an individual table, the pan 62 will have its 'water level at the maximum determined by the opening in the pipe 54. Once the cutting operation is complete, valve 58 will be opened permitting the water level to be lowered to just below the grating 78; The skeleton, or what remains of the original metal plate or plates from which the parts were cut, will be resting upon the metal bar 72 and can be removed by an electromagnetic crane or comparable de vice. Larger parts which may also be resting upon metal bar 72 can be removed in a similar manner and smaller parts which may have dropped between the bars will be caught by the grating 78 and will be resting above the level of the water remaining in the table. These can either be collected by hand or with mechanical assistance, in either case-the grating being above the water permits workmen to walk about on the top of the table to retrieve the parts without any interference from the water present in the table. Once the table has been cleared of the skeleton and. all parts cut therefrom, new blank plates may be positioned on the metal bars in the proper attitude for cutting by the automtic machines. The valve 58 is then closed, the valve 48 opened and the pump 20 started. Water under pressure will then be supplied to the spray header 72 and the nozzle will direct the high pressure water along the bottom 66 washing all chips and bits of metal resulting from the prior burning operation into the clean-out trough 64. During this .cleaning operation the water level will be rising and once it reaches the top of the over-flow pipe 54, the valve 48 can be closed. The table is then ready for start of the next automatic burning operation.

Over a period of time the. debris washed into the clean-out trough 68 will accumulate toan extent that removal thereof from the trough will be necessary. In order to accomplish this, the pipe 54 is manually unscrewed from the pipe 60,-thereby causing substantially all of the water within that table to be drained into the pit 14. The grating sections which are directly above the clean-out trough 68 are removed and the accumulated debris can be manually removed from the cleanout trough. Once the trough 68 has been cleaned out, the over-flow pipe 54 is reinserted into the pipe 60 and the grate sections replaced.

While one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described herein, it is to be understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A burning table for supporting a metal plate for cutting thereof comprising:

a pan capable of retaining water and having a bottom which slopes toward one end thereof, thereby defining a high side and a low side;

a clean-out trough formed along the low side of the pan;

a grating supported within said pan and being substantially level;

a spray header positioned below said grating and extending along said high side;

said header being capable of directing water under pressure along the bottom of the pantoward said trough to wash debris into said trough;

means for supporting said metal plate above the grating; and

water level control means for selectively maintaining water within the pan at a first level above the grating during the flame cutting operation and at a second level below the grating to permit removal of parts which drop onto the grating after being cut from said plate.

2. A burning table according to claim 1, wherein said water level control means is capable of draining substantially all of said water from said pan, including said trough, to permit removal of accumulated debris from said trough.

3. A burning table according to claim 1, wherein said means for supporting said metal plate comprises a plurality of metal bars extending across said pan and above said grating at an elevation higher than said first level of the water;

4. A burning table according to claim 3, and further comprising;

positioning means for loosely retaining each of said metal bars above said grating.

5. A burning table according to claim 4, wherein;

said metal bars have a rectangular cross-section with a major dimension and a minor dimension; and

each of said positioning means comprises a pair of metal angle irons positioned back to back and spaced apart a distance to slidably receive the minor dimension of each of said bars and position the major dimension thereof in a vertical plane;

the metal bars extending above the water and the angle irons being entirely below the water at said first level thereof.

6. A burning table according to claim 5, wherein said grating comprises a plurality of sections with each section resting upon the angle irons.

7. A burning table according to claim 1, wherein said water level control means comprises a first over-flow pipe in said pan with an opening above the level of the grating;

a second over-flow pipe in said pan with an opening below the level of the grating;

a drain line communicating with said first and second pipes;

a valve associated with said second pipe to selectively communicate and isolate said second pipe with said drain line.

8. A burning table according to claim 7, and further comprising;

a third over-flow pipe connected to and in sealing engagement with the bottom of said trough and having a threaded opening at a level to permit draining substantially all of the water; and

said first pipe is threadedlyengageable with said third pipe for selective removal and connection of said first and third pipes.

9. A burning table to facilitate the cutting of metal plates comprising:

a pan capable of retaining water and having a sloping bottom defining a high side and a low side;

a clean-out trough formed along the low side of the a grating supported within said pan and being substantially level;

a spray header positioned below said grating and extending along said highside;

means for supporting said metal grating;

a first over-flow pipe in said pan with an opening above the leve] of the grating;

a second over-flow pipe in the pan with an opening below the level of the grating;

a sump;

drain line means connecting each of said first and second pipes with the sump;

a valve associated with said second pipe to selectively connect and interrupt communication between said second pipe and the sump; and

a high-pressure pump connected to draw water from the sump and discharge it through the spray header.

10. A burning table according to claim 9, wherein said means for supporting comprises:

a plurality of metal bars extending across said pan, each of said bars having a rectangular cross-section defining a major dimension and a minor dimension;

a pair of angular members secured to position each of said bars, said pair of members being spaced to slidably receive said minor dimension of each said bar and maintain the major dimension thereof vertical;

and said grating being in sections capable of resting upon facing members of adjacent pairs.

plates above the 

1. A burning table for supporting a metal plate for cutting thereof comprising: a pan capable of retaining water and having a bottom which slopes toward one end thereof, thereby defining a high side and a low side; a clean-out trough formed along the low side of the pan; a grating supported within said pan and being substantially level; a spray header positioned below said grating and extending along said high side; said header being capable of directing water under pressure along the bottom of the pan toward said trough to wash debris into said trough; means for supporting said metal plate above the grating; and water level control means for selectively maintaining water within the pan at a first level above the grating during the flame cutting operation and at a second level below the grating to permit removal of parts which drop onto the grating after being cut from said plate.
 2. A burning table according to claim 1, wherein said water level control means is capable of draining substantially all of said water from said pan, including said trough, to permit removal of accumulated debris from said trough.
 3. A burning table according to claim 1, wherein said means for supporting said metal plate comprises a plurality of metal bars extending across said pan and above said grating at an elevation higher than said first level of the water.
 4. A burning table according to claim 3, and further comprising; positioning means for loosely retaining each of said metal bars above said grating.
 5. A burning table according to claim 4, wherein; said metal bars have a rectangular cross-section with a major dimension and a minor dimension; and each of said positioning means comprises a pair of metal angle irons positioned back to back and spaced apart a distance to slidably receive the minor dimension of each of said bars and position the major dimension thereof in a vertical plane; the metal bars extending above the water and the angle irons being entirely below the water at said first level thereof.
 6. A burning table according to claim 5, wherein said grating comprises a plurality of sections with each section resting upon the angle irons.
 7. A burning table according to claim 1, wherein said water level control means comprises a first over-flow pipe in said pan with an opening above the level of the grating; a second over-flow pipe in said pan with an opening below the level of the grating; a drain line communicating with said first and second pipes; a valve associated with said second pipe to selectively communicate and isolate said second pipe with said drain line.
 8. A burning table according to claim 7, and further comprising; a third over-flow pipe connected to and in sealing engagement with the bottom of said trough and having a threaded opening at a level to permit draining substantially all of the water; and said first pipe is threadedly engageable with said third pipe for selective removal and connection of said first and third pipes.
 9. A burning table to facilitate the cutting of metal plates comprising: a pan capable of retaining water and having a sloping bottom defining a high side and a low side; a clean-out trough formed along the low side of the pan; a grating supported within said pan and being substantially level; a spray header positioned below said grating and extending along said high side; means for supporting said metal plates above the grating; a first over-flow pipe in said pan with an opening above the level of the grating; a second over-flow pipe in the pan with an opening below the level of the grating; a sump; drain line means connecting each of said first and second pipes with the sump; a valve associated with said second pipe to selectively connect and interrupt communication between said second pipe and the sump; and a high-pressure pump connected to draw water from the sump and discharge it through the spray header.
 10. A burning table according to claim 9, wherein said means for supporting comprises: a plurality of metal bars extending across said pan, each of said bars having a rectangular cross-section defining a major dimension and a minor dimension; a pair of angular members secured to position each of said bars, said pair of members being spaced to slidably receive said minor dimension of each said bar and maintain the major dimension thereof vertical; and said grating being in sections capable of resting upon facing members of adjacent pairs. 